The Empty Crow
by kitchenparty
Summary: Matthew Williams was always a boring nobody. Well, at least in his opinion. So when he gets a job at the weird bookstore down the road, what he doesn't expect is what he gets. Franada, RusAme, Asakiku, PruAus, Spamano, GerIta
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: A New Job

Matthew Williams was, to put it truthfully, kind of bland. At least in his opinion. He was generally passed over by people. He was invisible. No one seemed to pay him much attention, and 20 years of it had taught him how to deal with it.

Today was much the same in that aspect. He continued walking to his new workplace without so much as a glance or an eye in his direction. Matthew swerved through the crowd to avoid bumping into anybody, when his eye was caught by a flashing sign in a shop window. It was one of those neon "Open" signs, he noted, and his eyes trailed up to the larger sign above the doorway.

"'The Empty Crow bookstore'." Matthew read quietly to himself. Looking down at the small piece of paper in his hand, he confirmed that this is where he needed to be. His hand took the doorknob and he opened the door.

Upon walking in, he immediately ducked as a large book flew across the room and landed on the sidewalk behind him. Looking up, he was greeted with the sight of two men who seemed to be fighting about something...

"You bloody frog, what did I tell you about bringing strangers home!?" roared a man who had the furriest eyebrows Matthew had ever seen. He was an average height, with sandy blonde hair. His face twisted into an expression of frustrated rage, he glared at the man standing across him.

Matthew's eyes looked to the receiving end of the verbal assault, and he first noticed that this man was... sort of really handsome... He was taller, and his wavy hair was a lighter color that went to his shoulders. He had some stubble on his chin, and he looked completely exhausted.

"Ah, you,are overreacting, mon ami."

Since neither of the two seemed to realize Matthew was there, Matt reached behind him and picked up the book that was tossed outside. Stepping inside of the store, he closed the door loudly, and the two quarreling blondes abruptly stopped shouting to look at him.

"You dropped this." Matthew said quietly, holding up the book. His eyes trailed the room. It was small and filled with bookshelves that were overflowing with various books of all sorts. Matthew saw a staircase behind the counter in the back corner of the room with a cat lounging on the bottom step. He moved his gaze back to the two men in front of him, both of whom looked rather surprised to see Matthew.

The shorter one with the... the eyebrows... slowly raised his hand and took the book from Matthew's. The previous fury was gone from his face, and was replaced with a look of stunned mortification. "T-Thank you..." he mumbled.

"No problem." Matthew mumbled in reply.

"Well... what- what brings you here? Are you um... interested in anything?" stuttered the man slowly, taking the book and placing it on the counter in the back of the room.

"Actually, I'm supposed to be the new employee... I was wondering if I had the right place?"

"Are you Matthew?" questioned the taller one.

"...Yes?" Matthew replied warily.

Both men went from embarrassed to ecstatic in an instant, turning and grasping Matthew's hands in their own.

"I'm Arthur-" the shorter one started, being cut off by the other man.

"Je m'appelle François." stated the taller one, shaking Matthew's hand enthusiastically.

"I uh..."

"I'm so sorry about the book, it was aimed at that wanker over there." Arthur apologized, nodding his head in Francis' direction, and Francis laughed quietly.

Matthew was lost, and Francis seemed to realize this. Turning to Arthur, he said "I think we should show him the ropes around here, oui?"

Arthur's face looked confused and a tiny bit... scared? But it was only there for about a second when he realized what Francis had said. His face then lit up again, and he began rambling excitedly.

"Oh, yes, of course! Blimey, I nearly forgot that you have no clue what to do here. Well, this is, of course, the store Oh, and back here is the register and those stairs go to our flat- I mean, our apartment... And then back here is the storage and the employee lounge..." Arthur carried on with his tour cheerily, leading Matthew through the building. It was actually a fairly decent size, there was even an extra room for having tea. Arthur showed him the whole floor, minus his upstairs apartment.

After his brief tour of the shop, Arthur led Matthew back to the front counter, where Francis was seen leaning against a wall, book in hand, looking completely uninterested in the words he was reading.

"Ahem." Arthur coughed into his fist, glaring at the frenchman. This succeeded in getting Francis' attention, and Francis glared back. His blue eyes were narrowed and angry, though Matthew had seen him so happy only a few minutes before? This would take some getting used to.

"Oui, Arthur?" Francis said.

As Arthur opened his mouth to speak (or, more likely yell) to Francis, a loud crash sounded from above them, and a cry of pain was audible. There was silence as Arthur's breath hitched and his face went white. Matthew was confused, Francis looked slightly concerned, and in less than a second Arthur was tearing up the stairs, yelling something about sick people needing to bloody stay in bed, god dammit.

The cat on the bottom step meowed, stood up, and walked away into the lounge, tail swishing behind him in a rhythmic motion.

...

This was going to be a fun place to work.

A/N: This is my first story that I've published of any kind. Please tell me if it's any good, thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Feliciano and Frustration

Sighing, Matthew bent down to pick up the rather impressively stacked pile of books that had been knocked over by a rowdy Italian boy, who was currently speaking with Francis animatedly. Matthew didn't know him, but Francis seemed to. The boy had introduced himself as Feliciano before running towards the cat, who had began to run away, which led to Feliciano falling over a pile of books, which then led to a small avalanche of literature, and then took you back to the start, Matthew cleaning up the mess.

Things had been a lot busier around the Empty Crow in the past two weeks. Matthew didn't quite know what had happened on his first day there, and he hadn't asked.

When Arthur had ran up the stairs, Francis followed him shortly after, telling Matthew to wait there until he had returned. A few minutes later he came back down again, saying that Arthur had given him the rest of the day off, and that the actual work would start the next day.

"Oh, Francis, can I go and see Kiku? Luddy told me that Gilbert told him that you said you heard from Arthur that he was sick. It's been forever since I've seen him!" Feliciano said, breaking Matthew out of his thoughts. Ah, yes. Matthew did find out the other guest upstairs was a man named Kiku.

What he didn't know was his relationship to Arthur and Francis.

"Why, of course, mon chère, I don't think Kiku would mind a guest-" Francis started, but trailed off as Arthur then walked into the room with a cup of tea, closing the door to the lounge behind him. There were large bags under his eyes, his hair was a tangled mess, and he looked as if he hadn't slept in days.

Arthur paused after closing the door, looking at Francis with an accusing stare. Then, he turned to Feliciano and sighed.

"I'm sorry, but Kiku will not be taking visitors today. I've called his doctor to make a home visit, and he should be here any moment now." he took a sip of his tea, then continued. "But, if the doctor says that it's all right, you can visit him tomorrow."

Feliciano's face lifted, and then he let out a squeal of delight.

"Yay! Ooh, do you think I can bring fratello and Ludwig? We'll have a party!" Brown eyes sparkled, and Feliciano looked happy to the point of bursting.

Arthur smiled softly, looking thoughtful. "We'll see."

"Finally!" A quiet cheer rose from Matthew, the newly piled books were freshly stacked and put back against the bookshelf. He looked around him, making sure Feliciano was no where in sight before stepping away from the shelves and walking back to the register. That was the third time Matthew had stacked the books, as Feliciano had kept tripping over them. But this time Matthew adjusted them slightly farther to the right, so they weren't toppled again by any more unexpected Italians.

Just as Matthew worked his way behind the counter, the bell above the door rang. Looking up, he saw a boy with olive skin and dark hair. He looked a lot like Feliciano, who was back in the storage room. The boy walked in, slamming the door sharply, and he proceeded to walk back towards the storage room, muttering profanities under his breath.

The whole time, Matthew was watching. He seemed to have no idea Matthew was even there. He opened the door to the storage room and walked in, shutting it just as violently as he had the front door. The small vase with a single rose on the front counter shook with the slamming of the door, and Matthew was flabbergasted.

Matthew heard some shouting from the back room, and just as he made up his mind to go in and check, the front door opened again. Before Matthew could even turn around to look at who had entered, a dark streak flew across the room, yelling as it went.

"Loooooviiiiii! Lovi, where are you going? Loviii~!"

The form bumped into Matthew as it ran to the storage room door, shoving him back into the counter. Matthew's side hit the corner, and he had to take a minute and rest as the sharp pain subsided.

"Owww..." Matthew winced, clutching his hip.

The noises from the storage room got louder, and when the throbbing in Matthew's hip was nothing more than a dull pulsing, he made up his mind- again- to see what was going on. So, hand still on his side (That was so going to bruise!), Matthew took two steps to the door and slowly pushed it open.

Looking into the room, he saw manga strewn all over the floor, and Francis and Feliciano were sitting in a box. Feliciano's look-alike was being hugged tightly by another man with dark, curly hair and bright green eyes, and he looked very uncomfortable. Matthew guessed the loud sounds he was hearing were the huggee's half-hearted attempts to get out of the arms of the other man.

"Y-you bastard! Let m-me go!" he shrieked, wiggling around. He looked more like he was trying to get comfortable than he looked like he was trying to get free.

The dark haired man planted a kiss to the boy's forehead, and he blushed vividly. The hugger smiled and said happily, "Awww, but Lovi! You're so warm and... snuggle-able!"

Feliciano and Francis were laughing and... was Francis sticking his hands into Feliciano's pants?

"D-dammit, you... y-you asshole..." the boy in the darker-haired man's arms had stopped struggling, and his face was red as a tomato.

It was actually pretty cute, Matthew thought. Then something glinted in his eye, and he noticed a small gold band around the curly haired man's finger. Looking at the boy he was hugging, Matthew saw a matching one. Aww...

"Ooh, Lovino, I found it! Vee~" Feliciano said, holding up a manga book.

Lovino's head snapped around, and he broke free of the other man's grasp. He sat down next to Feliciano, and the two of them started looking through it.

Matthew assumed he would have to clean up the mess in here later, and so as he turned to walk out of the storage room and make sure there weren't any customers who needed him, he didn't expect to feel Francis' hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, Matheiu! I did not see you. Have you met mon amis Lovino and Antoine?" Francis said, and Matthew glanced at the warm hand on his shoulder for a second before looking up and smiling softly.

"Not really." Matthew looked up at Antonio and Lovino. Antonio was looking at him, shocked, and Lovino's face shared a similar expression. "H-hello. I'm Matthew."

Antonio gaped for a second longer before breaking out in a bright grin. "Hola! I'm Antonio Fernandez Carriedo! And this," Antonio started and pointed at Lovino, who still looked shocked that someone had been in the room. "This is the lovely Lovi!"

Lovino suddenly came out of his daze and looked back down at his book, blushing furiously.

"B-bastard. Stupid T-tomato bastard..." he mumbled.

Antonio's smile grew wider, and Feliciano giggled. Francis still had his hand on Matthew, and Matthew didn't notice it sliding down to the small of his back until it rested just above his belt. Matthew's breath caught, and a blush spread across his face.

Realizing Francis' eyes on him, Matthew's blush only became redder. Francis' bright blue eyes looked at Matthew with an almost hungry stare, and Matthew's face was probably redder than Lovino's, he guessed. Why was that?

Arthur walked into the room a moment later, surprising everyone in it when the door slammed open. "Can you all please quiet down? Kiku is trying to sleep and-" he started, but stopped as his eyes trailed the room.

He looked angry, and it didn't help when he saw the state of the room, random books and manga were all over the floor and the shelves, boxes were open and some were even ripped as if someone had been jumping in them. There was a page missing from one of the manga, and the torn one was laying at Arthurs feet.

Without saying a word, Matthew could tell that he was already frustrated by something. But Arthur's face looked furious as his eyes turned to the five other men in the room. Upon seeing Antonio, his expression turned into one of rage. Looking back at Antonio, Matthew saw that his face wasn't much different.

"What in the name of bloody hell were you five doing?!" Arthur shouted, and Matthew jumped a little.

Without skipping a beat, Feliciano began to cry and wail incoherently. Lovino's face went red and flustered, and Antonio looked almost murderous. Arthur turned to Francis and Matthew, asking for an explanation in an outraged silence.

Francis looked amused at Arthur's rage, and laughed shortly, but then abruptly stopped. Then he looked almost guilty, like he wanted to laugh but it was completely wrong to do so. This was surprising, as Matthew saw Francis as the type who wouldn't really care about others' opinions like that. Well, you can't really judge a book by its cover, can you?

Francis opened his mouth and apologized. "Désolé, mon ami."

"You bloody frog! You and those moronic wankers you call your amis, clean this up! Kiku is sick, and he spent hours cleaning up this room yesterday after you... destroyed it, and he..." Arthur shrieked at Francis, face redder than Matthew's or Lovino's, and he looked as if he were fighting back tears as he screamed and screamed strings of profanities that would have put Lovino to shame.

Matthew felt extremely guilty. Even though he didn't take any part in destroying the room, he certainly hadn't prevented it. Francis looked concerned, and Matthew wondered just how sick this Kiku guy had to be to make Arthur this way.

Feliciano and Lovino were still crying, and Antonio even looked a little guilty. Arthur stopped yelling, and it was suddenly silent with the exception of the sniffling Italians in the corner.

"Just... quiet down." Arthur finally said, after a little while. "I'll clean up later." And with that, he turned and walked out of the room, expression unreadable.

It didn't take long for the stillness in the room to get to the people in it. Feliciano slowly stood up, along with Lovino, and they began to make their way to the door, Antonio following. Matthew took a few steps towards the door as well, holding it open for Francis who grabbed it and exited last.

The few customers who had been in the store stared as Feliciano, Lovino, and Antonio walked outside and down the road. Matthew took his place behind the register, ringing up a rather annoyed looking man's items. Francis stood beside him at the counter and looked uncomfortable with the, well, uncomfortable atmosphere.

"Maybe helping little Feli wasn't the best idea..." he said after a second or two. He laughed quietly. "It was funny seeing Arthur get so angry, though. I haven't seen his face so red since the Kissing Incident back in college. Although, Alfred's face was priceless as well, I thought Arthur had been ready to burst then."

"The... Kissing Incident?" Matthew questioned, confused, but grateful for something to break the awkward silence. Francis plucked the small rose from the vase on the counter and twirled it in his fingers.

Francis laughed, loudly this time, and Matthew's heart skipped. It was beautiful, honest. Different from those mocking snorts or those quiet, awkward laughs Matthew had been hearing the past few weeks.

"Ah," Francis said, looking reminiscent. "That's a story that never gets old, a tale of l'amour."

Francis took a breath, twirled the rose in his fingers another time, and placed it behind Matthew's ear. He exhaled slowly, looking straight into Matthew's eyes.

Matthew gulped and looked back, not shying away like he would have. This seemed rather interesting. But, then again, everything had been since he stepped in those doors on the other side of the room.

A/N: To those who reviwed, favorited, and followed, thank you! Every one of those made my day! This chapter didn't quite turn out like I had planned, and I wasn't able to get anyone to proofread it for me. If there are any major mistakes please tell me. Thank you!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: The Kissing Incident

They stood like that for a minute, Francis and Matthew, just staring at each other. Matthew wasn't as open about it as Francis, who was plainly studying Matthew thoroughly.

But really, Matthew was waiting for Francis to begin his story, and so far it looked as if he had forgotten about it. So it wasn't long before Matthew began to slowly shift himself into his work position again, in front of the register. As he began to turn back, Francis took a breath that in its own way signaled the beginning of his story.

"Let's see, this had happened in our second year of college, when Alfred and Kiku had been dating, if I remember correctly." Francis started. A woman walked up to the counter, and Matthew began to ring up her items.

Before Francis could continue and confuse Matthew further, he asked "Who are Alfred and Kiku?"

As the woman took her bag and walked away, Francis explained. "Ah, those two. Where do I begin? Well, Alfred is a friend. He and Arthur _are_ rather close, as much as our dear brit will deny it. He's also rather close to Kiku, they play games together."

Nodding, Matthew turned back around to face Francis and leaned his back against the counter.

"What's Alfred like? If he's managed to get close to Arthur then he must have some skill, eh?" he said, smirking.

Francis smiled back and laughed, winking. "Well, I can't say he has skill, as much as... just a natural charisma, for lack of a better word. He grows on you, I'll admit." Pausing, Francis scratched the back of his neck. "As for what he's like, that depends completely on the situation. Mostly he tries to be the 'hero', and is a complete airhead. But he has those moments where a switch flips, and he gets rather... serious."

"And Kiku?" Matthew pried, curiosity piqued. "What's he like? Arthur keeps mentioning him. I-I've actually been pretty curious about him for a while. I get the impression that they're pretty... close.

"Kiku is Arthur's mari, his husband."

Mathew's jaw dropped. Well that explained a lot. But why hadn't anyone told him before? It didn't make much sense to Matthew, but he nodded slowly anyway. Francis laughed at Matthew's reaction and leaned against the storage room door before continuing.

"Oui, they've been married for around three years. Kiku has always been pretty frail, and he falls ill very easily and just as often. So, not only is Arthur on edge because of that, but recently his sickness has been worse than ever. He's been in and out of the hospital three times in the past month. He'll go into brief seizures, and sometimes even goes unconscious for hours at a time. I haven't seen his temperature go below 100 degrees in a week." Francis explained, unintentionally making Matthew feel extremely guilty about causing Arthur any troubles. The guy already had enough going on.

He looked up at Francis, who was looking reminiscent.

Matthew cleared his throat, "S-So... What was the... 'Kissing Incident'?"

Francis looked at Matthew and laughed, loudly.

"Ah, right. Well, we were all a little drunk, so my version probably isn't the most accurate, but oh well." he inhaled deeply, and began to talk.

It was new years eve, and Alfred had invited them all to a "killer party". Arthur accepted reluctantly, and Francis had decided that it would be a good idea to tag along. He might even get lucky and end up taking someone home.

There were tons of people there that no one knew, not even Alfred, as he had told everyone to bring all the people that could come. And they had, there had been at least 50 people who had official invitations, and around 30 of them had brought at least 3 friends, so there were over 130 partygoers that night.

Arthur, Francis, and all of their friends were gathered in Alfred's kitchen, laughing and drinking and joking around. Al had his arm around Kiku's shoulder and was having an argument with Yao about the 20 dollars he owed him and how General Tso's Chicken wasn't even an actual Chinese dish, when suddenly Gilbert appeared and whispered something in Alfred's ear, obviously wasted.

"What? Asshole, you're lying! He wouldn't-" Alfred started, but was cut off when Gil grabbed his shoulders and looked him in the eyes.

"Ooh, but he would! Trussst me..." he slurred, then fell to the floor, much to the amusement of everyone else.

 _Matthew looked up and raised his brow. "You mean... Gilbert Beilshmidt?"_

 _"Oui, do you know him?"_

 _"Yeah, I met him at a comic convention a few years ago, he's a cool guy." Matthew said, then looked down again. "Sorry for interrupting, I was curious. Continue, please."_

 _Francis smiled and proceeded with his story._

Alfred had to call Gilbert's younger brother, Ludwig, to come pick him up. It was only 10 o'clock in the evening, and the party had only started an hour or four earlier. No one knew what Gilbert had told Alfred except for Arthur, who was cracking up in the corner, almost as drunk as Gilbert had been.

Alfred had narrowed his eyes and threw a punch at Arthur, hitting him right in the mouth, knocking out one of his teeth in the process. Arthur put a hand over his mouth and tried to punch Alfred back, but he was drunk and it only clipped Alfred's jaw.

They started to go at each other, punching and screaming, while Yao, Kiku, and Francis tried to pull them apart. Kiku got hit in the nose and both Alfred and Arthur stopped fighting immediately. It was a relief until Kiku announced to Alfred that it wasn't going to work anymore, right in front of everyone, and walked out of the room.

So, naturally, as anyone would do when they had just been dumped by someone they were in love with, Alfred started to cry and scream and drink. The whole time he would insult Arthur and accuse him of stealing Kiku away, but Arthur didn't seem to mind the verbal abuse, he found it entertaining actually.

Alfred and Kiku had been dating for almost a year, and it was obvious to everyone that Al had fallen for him. Sadly, it was equally obvious that Kiku did not return the feelings as strongly. In fact, it seemed he only went out with him to be polite.

Soon after Alfred officially announced that they were in a relationship, Arthur began to skip classes and get drunk more often. It took a while for Francis to realize why.

Well, after about two hours of heartbroken Alfred, Arthur started to get angry back at him. They actually had slowly made their way to the backyard, and there was a circle of guests around them as they started fighting again. Both of them were dead drunk and none of their blows really landed, but nonetheless, Alfred had a black eye and Arthur sprained his wrist.

It took fifteen minutes for Kiku and Francis to make their way through the crowd, and another to pull them off of each other. Both were panting and swaying dangerously. Francis had his arms around Arthur, pinning his arms to his torso, and Kiku was doing the same with Alfred, although he struggled more since Alfred was rather strong and Kiku was rather weak.

Alfred shook Kiku off of him and turned around to face him. He glared at him as he began to cry silently and angrily.

"Choose." he said, grabbing Arthur's arm and pulling him next to him. "Choose, Kiku."

Kiku looked confused, as did Arthur, and he looked at Alfred carefully.

"C-Choose what, Alfred?" Kiku questioned.

Through gritted teeth and teary eyes, Alfred said, "Me. Or Arthur. If what Gilbert said w-was true. Then choose."

 _"This is where it gets a bit... blurry. As a forewarning." Francis said, leaning his elbows on the counter as Matthew flipped the sign on the door from open to closed and turned off the neon light._

 _"It's alright. If you can't remember, you don't have to tell me. I understand." Matthew said and smiled brightly._

 _"No, no. I will tell you. It just won't be as... detailed."_

 _Matthew smiled again and nodded, walking back towards the counter._

 _"Alright."_

Then Kiku froze and looked between Arthur and Alfred, a terrified expression on his face. The whole backyard was silent in anticipation.

Suddenly, Kiku looked resolved, turned around, grabbed Arthur's shirt, and kissed him. All three were as red as the blood on Alfred's hand.

But their faces were priceless. Alfred looked like a kicked puppy, his lip was quivering and he was already crying. Arthur looked shocked, embarrassed, and oddly content. Kiku was flushing deeper by the second and looked ashamed, but was also oddly content.

Arthur and Kiku were a couple less than a week later, and it took Alfred six months before he spoke to either again.

Matthew looked up at Francis when he was done, laughing quietly.

"Is Alfred okay now?" he asked, resting his head in his hand and leaning on the counter.

Francis smiled and nodded. "Oui, he is fine. He currently resides with his lover in the next town over."

"Is it... another male? I don't mean to seem rude, but I've never been around so many other, well, um... gay people..." Matthew said.

Francis paused for a second and looked at Matthew, smirking. "...Other gay people?"

Matthew blushed and opened his mouth to reply when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs slowly. He and Francis turned to the sound, and a short man with black hair and dark eyes appeared at the landing.

He was shivering slightly and dressed in a thick sweater with a pair of jeans. He had simple, blue slippers and was unnaturally pale. A small smile formed on clammy lips as he turned to Matthew and bowed politely.

"Ah, hello. Please excuse me." he said. He turned to Francis and nodded before slowly walking towards the lounge door. Turning the knob, he opened it slightly. Matthew watched as he looked inside briefly before stepping in and shutting the door behind him. A shout of surprise was heard, followed by multiple apologies. Matthew thought he heard a bit of laughter, as well.

Francis looked at Matthew's puzzled expression for a moment, his own face looking a bit confused as well.

Matthew cleared his throat softly and asked shyly, "Was that... Kiku?"

"Oui, mon chere. He was probably looking for Arthur." Francis explained and shifted closer to Matthew. He seemed to be lost in thought, staring intently at something in the distance.

Francis grinned and ran a hand through his hair, debating whether or not to reach out and touch Matthew. In any other instance he would have done so without hesitation, but there was something about him that struck Francis differently than most. He had a feeling that if he made one wrong move, he would-

"Frog! Wake up! Hell, I don't pay you to space out!" Arthur yelled, walking back out into the shop. He was holding the hand of a very pale and wobbly, but still smiling politely, Kiku.

Francis frowned slightly. "I'm not payed... At least by you, anyway..."

Arthur blushed and yelled again. "I know that!" He turned to Matthew. "You can go home if you want, it's after hours anyways. Thank you for your help today."

Matthew nodded and said a quiet "thank you" before putting on his coat. He looked at Francis and smiled before walking out on to the street and shutting the door behind him.

Francis stared after him, then grudgingly followed Arthur and Kiku up the stairs to their shared apartment.

A/N: This one took a long time for me to get out and I have no other excuse than procrastination. I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner... Also, for those of you who don't use the Farenheit temperatures, when Francis says 100 degrees, I'm pretty sure its around 38 degrees Celcius.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Waiting...

Matthew slowly pulled up his shirt, exposing a pale stomach, and Francis was watching intently, taking in every detail.

Taking his shirt off completely, Matthew threw it to the side and crawled closer. He looked into Francis' eyes and whispered,

" _Wanker!_ "

... _What_?

Francis was thoroughly confused, but that melted away when Matthew pressed his lips to his. But before he even got the chance to kiss back, Matthew pulled away.

" _Wake up! Frog!_ "

And the confusion was back. But it didn't last long, as Francis felt a sharp sting on his arm and Matthew slowly started to fade away.

The room and the bed swirled into nothingness as Francis opened his eyes, not too pleased to see Arthur's face above him instead of Matthew's.

"Took you long enough. Wake up, and get to work. It's almost nine o'clock," Arthur growled, and proceeded to walk out, slamming the door.

Francis glared at him until the door was closed, then slowly began to roll himself out of bed. Not even bothering to fix his hair, he dressed himself and stepped into the kitchen.

Arthur was on the phone, presumably with Kiku's doctor, and Kiku was asleep on the couch with a damp cloth over his forehead. His fever had gone up the night before, and Francis seriously doubted Arthur had gotten any sleep.

Francis took a croissant from the plate on the counter and walked downstairs to the shop as he ate. He flipped the sign on the door and turned on the neon light. Walking back to the counter, he finished his croissant and brushed off his hands.

Then began the waiting.

Francis started work at nine, whenever the store opened. He never saw why it needed to open so early, as no one ever really showed up until noon. Nonetheless, if he wanted a place to live he had to run the store until Matthew came at ten.

 _Waiting_...

Francis leaned on his elbows against the counter and watched out the window, the sounds so quiet from upstairs he could hear the slow ticking of the clock in the kitchen.

 _Waiting_...

It was almost 9:30 now. Francis plucked the small rose from the vase on the counter and counted the petals. They were beginning to wilt. He would have to buy another rose.

 _Waiting_...

Where was Matthew? This was getting boring. Well, it had been boring, but that wasn't the point. Matthew took the boredom away. Oh, it was only 9:45.

 _Still waiting_...

The bell above the door rung and Francis looked up. It was Kiku's doctor.

He was a short man with pale blonde hair. His eyes were almost purple, and they could easily be confused with hazel from far away. Francis didn't know him very well, but he appeared to have a constant cheerful attitude, and he sometimes even brought his small dog with him, apparently it was a form of relaxation. Admittedly, Kiku did seem calmer when she was there, he said she reminded him of a dog he had as a child.

With a smile, he closed the door and turned back around to face the room.

"Hello! Is Mr. Kirkland home?" he asked, walking towards the counter.

Francis smiled back and replied, "Oui, they are upstairs. I'll take you to them, if you like."

The doctor, Väinämöinen, he remembered, nodded. "Yes, please. Thank you very much!"

Nodding, Francis turned to walk upstairs, waving for the doctor to follow. Three steps up, the door at the top of the landing opened, and Arthur ran out. He looked panicked, and Francis backed against the wall as he tore down the stairs to the doctor.

Arthur grabbed Doctor Väinämöinen's arm and ran up the stairs, yelling, "Thank god you're here! He's having another seizure! He's cut his head on a broken glass!"

Francis watched as the doctor's face grew worried as well, and they both sped up the stairs. He was rather worried himself, but he heard the bell above the door ring again. Whipping around, Francis walked back into the shop.

A woman was browsing through the books, holding the hand of a small child. He watched them, wondering about what was going on upstairs. There were the sounds of people walking, and muffled conversations were barely audible, though their urgent tones of voice could be heard.

The cat walked in from the lounge and hopped onto the counter. Curling into a ball beside the register, he purred and swished his tail. Francis scratched behind his ear and listened to the sounds from upstairs.

The bell on the door rang again.

 _We're busy today, of course as soon as Kiku starts going into seizures..._

Francis looked up, and smiled when he saw Matthew rush inside. Taking off his coat, Matthew began to apologize for being late and waved at the child with his mother.

Matthew walked to the counter and stood next to Francis. His cheeks had a light blush across them, and the light shone on his hair through the window near the counter. Again, Francis had that almost irresistible urge to reach out and touch him, to see if that light blonde hair was as soft as it looked.

Footsteps were heard from upstairs, thumping across the room quickly. Someone was running.

Francis remembered Kiku and his seizure, and became worried again. Matthew looked at the ceiling, a curious look on his face.

"What's going on up there?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Looking up as well, Francis heard a shout and some more thumping.

He patted Matthew on the shoulder, then turned his head to look at him.

"I'll go find out," Francis told him, then removed his hand slowly, walking towards the stairs cautiously.

A thud, then another shout.

Stepping onto the landing at the top of the steps, Francis slowly placed his hand on the doorknob. He was close enough to hear the conversation going on inside now.

"Kiku, love, I'm right here..." Arthur choked.

Francis slowly opened the door.

Matthew sat in the front of the ambulance next to Francis and the paramedic who was driving. Arthur sat in the back with the other paramedic, Dr. Väinämöinen, and Kiku. Matthew could hear the sporadic beeping of the machine monitoring Kiku's heartbeat, and a nervous, suspenseful silence hung in the air, as if it was daring someone to speak.

It took an hour to get to the nearest hospital, and Kiku was taken to the emergency room. Arthur and Dr. Väinämöinen were the only two permitted through, Matthew and Francis were told to stay back in the waiting room.

Sitting down, Matthew sighed and leaned back in his seat. Francis sat next to him and rested his elbows on his knees.

Again, there was a silence, and it hung over Matthew like a familiar burden. Francis laid his head in his hands and looked up at Matthew.

If you only glanced at him, he would appear to be calm. But as Francis took a closer look, he noticed the grip Matthew's hands had on the armrests of his chair and the worry in his eyes. It moved Francis, for Matthew to be so concerned about someone he'd only met the day before.

Matthew, meanwhile, had no clue why he was there, or how he had really gotten there in the first place.

He remembered walking into work, Francis checking on the situation up in the apartment, and suddenly Arthur, Francis, and the man he now knew as Dr. Väinämöinen, came running down to meet the ambulance that was suddenly at the door. Matthew had only had enough time to flip the sign on the door before someone had grabbed his arm and pulled him along.

Matthew and Francis sat uncomfortably for about an hour and a half, before Dr. Väinämöinen came in and told them with a smile, " can see you now!"

Francis stood up gracefully, and Matthew followed suit. They were lead down a long hallway to a curtained off section of the Emergency Ward, where Kiku and Arthur sat; Kiku laying on his back and staring at the ceiling, Arthur sitting on a chair next to him and holding his hand tightly. Kiku looked even more pale than Matthew had seen him the other day, and he shivered when they pulled back the curtain to walk inside.

There was a silence that followed, the only noise being that of Kiku's heart monitor and his labored breathing. Francis sat next to Arthur and looked at Matthew from the corner of his eye. No one moved, and no one spoke, which was unusual since Arthur and Francis were within ten feet of each other.

The heart monitor beat in time with the clock on the wall, and everything was still.

 _Waiting..._

A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long, I had a bad block and I was procrastinating and... I promise I'll have the next chapter out sooner! Also, sorry for the sucky quality... :/


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Cravat of Love

Ludwig sat on a bench beside his older brother, Gilbert. The park was pleasantly quiet. From a distance, all seemed calm.

Anyone who came closer knew, it was probably anything but.

Ludwig was trying to keep his brother still while also trying to focus on his book, which was proving to be a difficult feat. Gilbert was restless, claiming he was too cool to have his little brother play matchmaker when he was already dating a hot Hungarian girl.

Ludwig pointed out that she dumped him 3 months ago after hitting him with a cast iron skillet, and that they hadn't even been together for more than a week.

Gilbert frowned and tried to argue that she had called him the previous week, Ludwig reminding him that she called to ask him to stop sending her inappropriate pictures. As Gilbert tried to think of a comeback, the sounds of heavy footsteps and panting became audible.

Both brothers looked up as a dark-haired, pale-skinned man half-jogged up to them. He was winded and his hair was nearly impeccable with the exception of a seemingly ever-present cowlick, violet eyes staring coldly from behind skewed, half-rimmed glasses.

Gilbert groaned as Ludwig grabbed his arm and closed his book, unable to wrench himself free of his younger brother's grip. Ludwig slowly stood up with Gilbert, facing the disheveled Austrian before him.

"Hello, Roderich. You were supposed to be here over half an hour ago," Ludwig said, looking at his watch.

Roderich, still catching his breath, wheezed, "It's not _my_ fault..! No one was there to escort me from my car, so I had to come here on my own." Adjusting his glasses, he smoothed out his shirt and fixed his cravat. The Beilschmidt brothers sighed in unison.

Gilbert was getting bored of this. It was obvious Ludwig was trying to hook him up, but why with this prissy jerk? He could easily go to the bar and pick up any chick he saw, because who in their right mind _wouldn't_ want some of this? He then decided that his body had caused Roderich to fall hopelessly in love with him and that _Roderich_ had convinced Ludwig to arrange lunch together! Well, if he was really so desperate…

It wasn't until he was slapped in the face by an angry Austrian did he realize he had said that all out loud.

"Are you done yet?" Ludwig glared at his brother, sighing again and massaging his temple. "Is it possible that I just wanted to do something nice togeth-" Ludwig was interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing, checking to see if it was important. "It's from Feliciano… Excuse me." He walked over to a bench to answer the phone, leaving Gilbert and Roderich alone.

There was an uncomfortable silence that followed, Roderich refusing to acknowledge Gilbert's presence. Gilbert sighed and started walking away. He was bored. Maybe he could head down to Arthur's store and hang out with Francis and the cute new guy, Matthew.

Roderich watched him go from the corner of his eye. Gilbert's footsteps seemed to echo across the park, his platinum-colored hair and porcelain skin almost invisible under the bright sunlight. You could really only tell he was there because of his bright red jacket, which coincidentally matched the shade of his eyes rather well. The way he walked so confidently…

Roderich scoffed at his own thoughts. If _anyone_ was a prissy jerk, it was that albino _dummkopf_ …

Ludwig came back and looked around, questioning Roderich, "Where's Gilbert? I left for two minutes…"

"I wouldn't know. I'm not his babysitter," the brunet replied.

Another sigh. _Maybe he and Gilbert_ would _make a good couple. They're both equally infuriating…_

Ludwig explained that Feliciano had called to tell him that Kiku is in the hospital and that he doesn't have a ride to go visit him. "Is it okay if we get lunch to-go so I can pick him up?" he asked.

"I suppose," Roderich crossed his arms, following Ludwig to his car. They came across Gilbert about two blocks away from the park, managing to convince him to get in the car. He sat in the back by himself, telling them about how they'd obviously missed him and that they didn't know how they would get on without him the entire way to the hospital.

* * *

He softly ran his fingers through his husband's hair, looking at him with eyes full of love, admiration... and pain.

He hurt.

His pain was the combination of many things. His perpetual state of illness, worry for his husband's well-being, guilt for having so many worry about him, the IV in his arm, the tiredness that comes with fighting for his life for every second of it.

Arthur's head was in his lap and he was sleeping, having stayed up all night watching over him. Kiku wished he would take better care of himself instead of fretting over him. He wasn't going to live much longer anyway…

As the room began to spin, Kiku Honda-Kirkland closed his eyes and slowly brushed his fingers through sandy blonde hair.

* * *

A/N: Oh my god, it's been nearly a year since I've updated and I deeply apologize! Many things are to blame, and I won't bore you with excuses, but it was mainly family and technology issues. I'm already working on the next chapter, although when I'll finish is up in the air right now. I tried to make this chapter longer since it's been so long, but I barely broke 900 words... Anyway, please enjoy, and let me know if there are any mistakes (I'm not the best at self-editing...) !

Dummkopf: idiot/fool


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: The Feeling of Feelings

The sign was flipped. The light was turned on. All of the shelves were restocked and organized. The floors were immaculately clean. But there was no Francis.

Matthew walked into the storage room, hoping to find him in there. No luck.

Maybe the lounge? ….Nope. Was he in bathroom? All the stalls were empty…

 _Where is he...?_ Matthew sighed deeply. I can't go on break if no one's watching the shop…

With another sigh, elbows were rested on the counter and hopes of eating lunch were destroyed. It wasn't unusual for Francis to disappear like this, but Matthew was always able to find him somewhere in the shop. He assumed his co-worker was in the apartment, but that was off limits for our poor, hungry Canadian. He stayed put, absentmindedly stroking the cat as he sauntered across the countertop.

Pale lavender eyes glanced up as the bell above the door signaled the entrance of a customer. Straightening himself up, Matthew watched as a young couple browsed the books together. Man, he was hungry. These two seemed pretty indecisive on what to buy, maybe he could slip out and grab something before they-

"Excuse me, do you have any other books by this author?" the young lady questioned him, handing over a faded novel. Matthew carefully took the book from her hands, checking the name and leading her to the shelf where his works were. She and her partner thanked him, then chose what they wanted. Matthew's stomach decided it would be a good time to imitate the call of a whale at that moment, his face flushing as the couple laughed.

 _Where the hell are you, Francis? I'm dying here…_

He checked out their things and waved as they left, deflating onto the counter. This was going to be a long day…

Arthur was a wreck. He hadn't bathed in a week, his face was ashen and he was nearly as pale as Kiku.

Although he wouldn't admit it, Francis was deeply worried for Arthur. He refused to leave Kiku's side for more than a few minutes at a time, and only left to use the restroom. It wasn't like him, to so openly show how worried he was.

There was still hope, however. A specialist by the name of Arlovskaya, who worked for a Belarusian hospital. Doctor Väinämöinen recommended her, saying that she just may be able to help Kiku. Maybe not cure him completely, but definitely get him a step back in the right direction.

Monotonous beeping and equally monotonous snoring came from the bed across the room, pale fingers loosely tangled through greasy blond hair. Francis watched as Kiku and Arthur slept, worrying for them and also trying to pinpoint the weird feeling in the back of his mind of forgetting something.

He stepped into the hall quietly, pacing. He remembered his keys, he heard them jingling in his pocket. His phone was in his pocket with his keys, and he felt his wallet in the other one.

Did he remember to open up the shop? Oh wait, Matthew had that shift today… Matthew? _...MATTHIEU! MON DIEU!_

Francis was merely a blur to all he passed as he raced to the elevators, pushing the button frantically. Never in his life had he ever been so impatient to get to work, but those soft blond curls bouncing around the face of a smiling Canadian was a great motivator.

Taxi was the quickest way to get back to the shop from the hospital, but it was still another half an hour before Francis flung the door open. Matthew raised his eyes tiredly, immediately perking up when faced with the slightly disheveled Frenchman.

Francis could never quite find the word to describe that feeling he had when Matthew grinned like that, although it was sitting just on the tip of his tongue when he felt warm arms briefly embrace him in relief. They released him all too soon, apologizing about leaving so soon and saying something about lunch before scrambling out the door.

It was a warm feeling, bubbling from his stomach and making him feel almost giddy as he replayed the moment in his mind. He felt a flutter and his legs momentarily lost all feeling. _What was the word?_

The dreamy gaze remained upon his face for the rest of the day.

A/N: I apologize yet again for another long wait!! Also, a second apology for the quality of the last chapter... I'm sorry you had to read that... There was no editing done on this chapter other than a few grammar corrections!! A friend of mine pointed out to me that I tend to write better when I don't proofread... So we'll see how it goes!! I'm hoping to get the next chapter out before August, so in the meantime please enjoy!~


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